1993 Kagoshima Heavy Rain
Encyclopedia
1993 Kagoshima Heavy Rain means a series of heavy torrential rains which hit Kagoshima, Japan
with debris flow
in the early part of August, 1993. The formal name in Japanese was 平成5年8月豪雨, or August 1993 Heavy Rain. The death toll was 71, but about 2,500 people who were either in 1200 cars or busses, including those on the trains and inhabitants were saved by fishing boats and ferrys which carried them to Kagoshima through the Sakurajima Bay.
according to the Japan Meteological Agency. The former heavy rain fell in the Aira district on August 1 and the latter on August 6 in the center of Kagoshima Prefecture
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
with debris flow
Debris flow
A debris flow is a fast moving, liquefied landslide of unconsolidated, saturated debris that looks like flowing concrete. It is differentiated from a mudflow in terms of the viscosity and textural properties of the flow. Flows can carry material ranging in size from clay to boulders, and may...
in the early part of August, 1993. The formal name in Japanese was 平成5年8月豪雨, or August 1993 Heavy Rain. The death toll was 71, but about 2,500 people who were either in 1200 cars or busses, including those on the trains and inhabitants were saved by fishing boats and ferrys which carried them to Kagoshima through the Sakurajima Bay.
General descriptions
1993 Kagoshima Heavy Rain includes torrential rains which fell between July 31 and August 6 in Kagoshima PrefectureKagoshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...
according to the Japan Meteological Agency. The former heavy rain fell in the Aira district on August 1 and the latter on August 6 in the center of Kagoshima Prefecture
Kagoshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...
.
Weather in 1993
- The 1993 Japanese rainy season, East Asian rainy seasonEast Asian rainy seasonThe East Asian rainy season, commonly called the plum rain , is caused by precipitation along a persistent stationary front known as the Meiyu front for nearly two months during the late spring and early summer between eastern China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan...
was long since the rainy season front stayed in Japan because of a high pressure area in the Pacific Ocean was weak, marking a cold summer. Japan Meteorological AgencyJapan Meteorological AgencyThe or JMA, is the Japanese government's weather service. Charged with gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan, it is a semi-autonomous part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport...
once declared the end of the rainy season, but it was cancelled. Toward the end of July, 3 typhoons landed, of them, two on Kyushu. In August, Typhoon No. 7 came close to Kyushu, and toward the end of August, Typhoon No. 11 approached toward Kanto area and later landed on Hokkaido. The typhoons which landed in Japan numbered 6, the maximum number at that time. The summer was cold and the lowered production of rice led to the rice riots in HeiseiHeiseiis the current era name in Japan. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the first day after the death of the reigning Emperor, Hirohito. His son, Akihito, succeeded to the throne...
era.
Weather in Kyushu
- The total rain amounted to 1000 mm in southern Kyushu including Kagoshima PrefectureKagoshima Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...
, causing landslides or floods. On July 9, the end of the rainy season was once declared in the southern parts of Kyushu, but later it was cancelled. The rainy front went southward, resuming the rainy season. On July 27, Typhoon No. 5 passed west of Kyushu and landed in Nagasaki PrefectureNagasaki Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Nagasaki.- History :Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki...
. Between July 27 and 30, the rain amounted between 100 mm and 300 mm in southern Kyushu. The long rainy season softened the land, rich in volcanic ash. - On August 1, torrential rain in AiraAiraAira is a genus of about 10 species of annual grasses, native to western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and Africa. The common name, shared with the similar related genera Deschampsia and Koeleria, is Hair-grass, from the very slender leaves and stems...
district reached 104 mm an hour at Mizobe, 405 mm in one day. The death toll reached 23 persons in the central parts of Kagoshima PrefectureKagoshima Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...
. National Highway No.10, Kyushu Expressway Motorway and Japan Railway railroads were completely out of service. The buildings of Sakurajima Service Area were destroyed. - On August 6, Kagoshima city was badly hit with 99.8 mm /hour rain(at Kohriyamacho). 48 persons were killed and one was missing. Among the 5 stone bridges built in the Edo era on Kohtsuki River, two were destroyed.
Damage
- The damage by debris flowDebris flowA debris flow is a fast moving, liquefied landslide of unconsolidated, saturated debris that looks like flowing concrete. It is differentiated from a mudflow in terms of the viscosity and textural properties of the flow. Flows can carry material ranging in size from clay to boulders, and may...
on August 6, was extraordinarily great. In the Ryugamizu area, where mountains were close to the sea, and highways and railroads are situated, 22 debris flows occurred and 1200 motorcars could not move and passengers were isolated. 2500 people, including passengers in the cars, busses, trains and inhabitants were saved by fishing boats and ferrys which carried them to Kagoshima city through the Sakurajima Bay. This condition was featured in television programs.
Shirasu-Daichi
- It is to be noted that Kagoshima PrefectureKagoshima Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...
is rich in Shirasu-DaichiShirasu-Daichiis a broad pyroclastic plateau in southern Japan. It covers almost all of southern Kyūshū, which was formed by pyroclastic flows....
or land rich in volcanic ash. It is a broad pyroclastic plateau in southern Japan. It covers almost whole southern Kyūshū, which was formed by pyroclastic flows. It may cause sudden depressions, landslides and damage, with rain.